Myopathy in Statin-Treated Children and Adolescents: A Practical Approach

This paper reviews the existing literature on statin-related myopathy in children and adolescents, to inform development of a practical management approach.

Reports of statin treatment in the pediatric population revealed no evidence of muscle pathology, with asymptomatic elevation of creatine kinase(CK) levels and symptoms of muscle pain without CK elevation seen equally in subjects and controls in RCTs. By contrast, rare cases of rhabdomyolysis have now been documented in statin-treated children; this serious problem had never been previously reported. Statin-induced myopathy is rare in childhood so routine monitoring of CK levels is unnecessary in asymptomatic patients, reserved for those with muscle pain. Rare case reports of rhabdomyolysis in statin-treated children and adolescents suggest that parent and patient education on symptoms of adverse statin effects should include immediate physician contact with the appearance of dark urine, with or without muscle pain.